Book of the Week: Tossed Pebbles: A Collection of Haiku and Photo Haiku by Roderick J. Stewart (aka Roderick Ayres).

Roderick grew up in the Ottawa Valley in the heart of Ontario, Canada, and for many years has resided on the west coast of British Columbia. He earned his degree in English at the University of Victoria and became a dedicated self-taught practitioner of concise literary work and nature photography.

In the Preface, Roderick writes: “For me the haiku and its relationship to my nature photographs is the best way to express the beauty of life as a spiritual journey. Juxtaposing the haiku with a photograph often brings surprising associations, both for the poet and the reader. And sometimes there is that “aha!” moment, that instant of sudden clarity combined with surprise. Most of all it can encourage a state of reverie where the mind opens to its intuitive and vibrant potential.”

below the wharf
a starfish in moonlight
points the way

as water calms itself
in the twilight pool
her tears become stars

shaman’s mask
copper-flamed eyes
gaze into my formlessness

entering the icy walk
arguing
hand-in-hand

You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library and please share your favorite poem from the book with us.

Do you have a chapbook published in 2016 or earlier that you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details. Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by THF Digital Librarian Dan Campbell and are used with permission.